Opinion: Urban sprawl ship has sailed in Yanchep, Two Rocks

TIM of Padbury (Times, Opinion May 23) may well be worried about urban sprawl, but if he had visited Yanchep or Two Rocks recently he would know that ship has sailed. There are thousands of people already living here with approval in place for thousands more homes.

What we need now is the services and jobs those people require. The long-promised provision of a rail link and the extension of the freeway (still only two lanes and falling 20km short of the major growth areas) is a start and one worked hard for by local councillors and politicians.

However, modern solutions to congestion are also required, such as a properly functioning internet (which we do not have now that the NBN rollout has been downgraded) and above all local jobs so that people do not need to commute to the city at all.

There have been promises of universities, hospitals and the like but while all the housing development has materialised, none of these have come to pass.

The transition from the old Yanchep/Two Rocks cannot be reversed, whether people like it or not. This might be sad, but it is a fact. Nor can it be ignored.

We need community facilities that are actually completed.

We need complementary private investment or a halt to housing development until the services catch up. The latter is of course impossible as all the relevant approvals have been given years ago. That means we need jobs and investment now, not old arguments that have long been lost.

Where Tim is correct is that the type of development we have seen here should never again be allowed to proceed unless the promised services and facilities come with the homes, not years afterwards.